About Me

I’m a designer who leads with curiosity, creativity, and a love for people. As a three-year-old, I’d introduce myself to strangers with a bold “Hi! I’m Belle Bates!” And honestly, not much has changed. I've always had a natural curiosity about people and a strong desire to connect with them. I initially studied nursing & public health because I loved the idea of helping others. However, I quickly realised that design was my true calling and that I could help others, just in a more creative way. This is reflected in my passion for working on projects that embed user research and focus on developing outcomes that have a positive impact on people and communities. I hold a Bachelor of Design with a double major in Communication Design and UX/UI Design. This education has given me a solid foundation in creative thinking, empathy building, visual storytelling, and impact measurement to generate ideas and create designs that have the capacity to connect with people and make their lives better. I was honoured to receive the Commendation Capstone Project award for my group capstone project, developing the Altor app for a startup company.

In 2024, I was competitively selected to participate in an international internship as a UX/UI designer in Seoul with Grape Lab, a sustainable design studio that conducts a variety of initiatives to address social and environmental problems from a design perspective. This provided me with a valuable insight of working in a cross-cultural context with people from marginalised backgrounds.

Working within the Institute for Health Transformation at Deakin University, I contribute to the BLOOM project, a digital program supporting educators and parents in promoting children’s social, emotional, and physical wellbeing. My role includes developing the brand identity, creating visual assets, and supporting design work across the project. As my involvement has grown, I’ve taken on additional responsibility within the team, including leading co-design workshops and guiding discussions to better understand user needs. I have developed user personas and scenarios to support decision-making, and helped educate non-design team members on the value of user-centred design in shaping more effective outcomes. This experience has strengthened my leadership, communication, and collaboration skills, as well as my ability to translate ideas into clear and consistent visual systems.